By Kavita Bajeli-Datt, IANS,
Jaipur : They were planning a “different” kind of vacation when they chose India as a destination. And different it truly turned out for four British teenagers who landed in this tourist city a day after the terror bombings.
The four boys, who are from Bristol, picked Rajasthan as their choice, while the rest of their friends took off to Kerala or Goa.
But minutes after they arrived at Jaipur railway station Wednesday they realised things were not fine – there had been a string of terror blasts and everything in the city was closed due to the day-long curfew.
However, they are determined not to let it stop them from enjoying themselves.
“As soon we arrived at the station, somebody showed us the newspaper and we read about the blasts in Jaipur,” said David Royce, a student of history.
“Is it big?” his friend James Marshall asked.
“At our place everybody visits Kerala or Goa, but we thought we should do something different,” Justin Johnson, another friend, told IANS.
“They have barricaded the city and are carrying on investigations. We stayed indoors in our hotel and came out only in the evening,” said Royce.
The curfew on Wednesday was till 6 p.m. and Thursday till 4 p.m.
The Jaipur visit had another effect – they were besieged by calls from their families and friends to know whether they were safe.
After curfew lifted at 6 p.m. Wednesday, they rushed to the nearest internet café to write to the rest of their gang to tell them they were safe.
“I did not realise that we would have to send messages to our friends and family that we are safe,” said Royce.
However, the blasts have not deterred their spirit. “We are not scared. We are just disappointed. I wanted to go around the city and visit some places but everything is shut,” said Robert Davis.
The four have decided to leave for Jaisalmer and are hoping the situation in the city will improve when they return after a week.
“I hope everything will be fine by the time we return. We would like to explore the city we had heard so much about.” Davis said.
Though tourists generally stay away from Rajasthan in summer, David and his friends decided to brave the desert sun and preferred it over the beaches of Goa.
“We are going to make up for that as our next destination is Thailand,” said Davis, hoping that they have a good time in Jaisalmer.